Adversity could make or break Zach. How a QB responds to adversity should tell us everything we need to know about our QB. The 1st 10 games looks like a schedule that could bury most QBs. 7 top 8 defenses. This could be a really really tough stretch for him. I hope he can keep his confidence. Last year I thought he was mentally done when he lost his confidence the 1st 5 games. But he really showed some mental strength with his ability to reset and play well the last 7 games. After ast year, I don't think any of us can say who ZW is but we all can agree that he will be severely tested by this schedule. Most young QBs crumble mentally when things go bad. That is the reality. While there is a reason for optimism there is also good reason for pessimism. These 1st 10 games, how he responds, how it affects his confidence and how he plays the last 7 games should give us good insight into who ZW really is.
I get "young players," but I don't get this "young coaches" excuse. You're supposed to hire coaches because they have a proven background of success, not to learn on the job. If this team doesn't show improvement with the level of talent on the roster now, I'm not going to give the coaches any quarter.
Losing is to be expected.... if he mentally crumbles and regresses as season goes on, he's not the guy. period
This is where JD and Saleh play a huge role. If Douglas hadn't done anything to improve the talent on "O" - like Macc failed to do for Sam - and if we still had a HC that was insisting on trying to fit "square pegs" into "round holes" like both Bowles and Gase did, then I'd be MUCH more pessimistic about the future. But Douglas DID add a lot of talent - on both sides of the ball - and hired a HC who in turn hired a CS that has shown itself to be much more flexible. None of that guarantees a winning season, but I'm optimistic that the team will be much better, and in particular, Zach will do much better. How many wins does that translate to? I'm hoping for a bare minimum of 6-7, but it could be more depending on how things gel, and the number of injuries (or lack thereof). If they only 4-5, there had better be tangible improvement by everyone as evidenced by close scores in the games they lose, and Zach showing he's a Top 15-20 QB regardless. Anything short of that will be a disaster, and likely to make me suspend any real interest in this team going forward.
